Video - Opening Up My First Real Copy of Cytosis
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jul 07, 2017 at 01:21:27 AM

Hello Backers,

Quick update because the Cytosis MPC has arrived!!! I'm still a bit giddy about it so I’ll let my video-self do the talking...

 The unboxing...

Inside the Cytosis box...

Backerkit  

About Collector’s Editions…  

Basically, these are all individually numbered games and we set the number as soon we ended the campaign. We did print some additional units but not many. So, we have only a limited number of extra Collector’s Edition copies, and this really complicates things in BackerKit because you can't restrict reward levels. So, backers cannot switch to a pledge level that includes a Collector's Edition.

But... 

If you want, you can ADD the Standard Game (you can do so already by switching pledge levels or with an add-on) or you can add the Collector's Edition to any pledge of $39 or more as an add-on. The add-ons INCLUDE shipping, there wasn't a simple way to make it work otherwise.

$1 Pledge backers CAN add on a Collector's Edition copy, OR can switch their pledge to receive a Standard Game. But remember, the Collector's Editions are limited, so once the amount we've restricted it to is gone, it's just gone... Because we need to keep extra copies in case there are shipping issues or lost packages, etc.

Overflowing with appreciation,

John

Production, BackerKit and Shipping Update
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 12:50:06 AM

Hello backers,

Apologies for the delay in getting this update out. I usually transition to updates every three weeks or so after the campaign ends, but this one is a little delayed. But don't let this worry you about the progress of Cytosis. Things have been going swimmingly.

Production Update

Even though our office schedule has been disrupted the past month and a half due to conventions and some very exciting business changes that I'll announce soon, there hasn’t been any disruption in the Cytosis production process.

I REALLY love the box back...

We received the Cytosis pre-production copy (PPC) and it looks GORGEOUS. It is also VERY substantial… the board alone weighs almost a pound. The whole game weighs almost 3.5 lbs (right at 1.5 kg actually) so it’s going to cost me a pretty penny to ship!!! But the upgrades to the components were so worth it. Can’t wait til you all have your game in hand.

I've approved the PPC for mass production, the MPC is supposed to ship to our office next week, and we're on track to begin shipping the game out to you backers at the end of August.

One Modification to the Box Insert

One modification I wanted to bring up is the cardboard insert. During the campaign we planned to design a four component insert. Panda manufactured the four compartment insert, sent it to us in the PPC…. And, upon receiving the Cytosis PPC, I discovered that it was actually much harder to get the components out. You just couldn’t fit a finger in between the player mats and the wall of the insert and the same with the cards. You essentially had to turn the box over and dump everything to get the player mats and cards out, which is really annoying if you have anything else in the box. 

We had a lengthy discussion with our project manager to see if we could decrease the thickness of the walls on either side of the box or if we could have half circle cut in the insert for a thumb hole, and on and on... 

Our project manager took the info back to his team, who tried to decrease the sides of the box, but they were concerned that this made the insert too weak to support the game board over the years. 

So, in the end, we went with a two compartment cardboard insert. It is very sturdy, and still separates well, so I approved. I know this is a change from what we had originally planned, but I wanted to let you know up front because I REALLY do think this is better for the game's durability and quality overall. I hope that you’ll understand and you will trust me with this decision that is contrary to what was planned. 

 Pics of the Cytosis two-compartment insert from our Panda project manager

Backerkit

I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting the Backerkit email.  Everything has been approved and I am about to start sending out the invites. It was very critical that everything was correct in the survey so I didn't want to rush this process and I didn't want to get old addresses as well. But you should have plenty of time to make any pledge modifications!

Origins Game Fair 

Cytosis with some of the Panda guys... I didn't win. And they took the opportunity to thoroughly rub it in. Ha. These guys are fantastic.

We had a blast exhibiting at Origins Game Fair 2017 (and are already signed up for Origins 2018!). We talked to hundreds of people, had a blast meeting up with Cytosis backers and other friends in the board game industry, showed off the Cytosis PPC and even had time to play a couple new board games. 

Next in the Genius Game pipeline… 

Our next game in the pipeline is currently called Subatomic: An Atom Building Game. It's a deck building game where players are using their hand of subatomic particles to build a number elements.  

We’ve reached another playtesting phase and would love your help! If you’re interested in playtesting Subatomic and giving us feedback on game play and the rules, please email [email protected] with the subject line "Subatomic Playtester - [Your Name]" and we’ll send you the link to the Subatomic Print-n-Play! 

Or feel free to become a fan and/or Subscribe to the BGG page for Subatomic. 

Science Game Design Contest

Genius Games is hosting a Game Design Contest! We have successfully self-published six of our science games through Kickstarter, and want to start publishing even more science games from other designers. We are looking for games that are accurately themed around the basics of biology, chemistry and/or physics. We will be posting more details about the contest guidelines very soon!

Well, this was a long one, but I had quite a bit to catch you up on. 

As always, overflowing with appreciation, 

John

Pictures of the Dice and Wooden Resources & Other Stuff!
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Jun 01, 2017 at 01:09:15 AM

Hello backers!  

The Dice Samples Have Arrived

Here are the final pre-production dice. We got to show them off last weekend to a bunch of the backers at Geekway and they really loved them!

Marbled D6 Dice

While I’m at it, here are some pics of the player pieces and also the molecules for the standard game …  

 The grey flasks are pretty substantial :-)

Macromolecule cubes for the standard game

We'll send the Backerkit email soon! 

Everything is set up, we just need to get the approval from the Backekit staff and we’ll send it out via email in the next week or two. Backerkit makes entering your shipping info and modifying your pledge SUPER easy. You can keep your pledge as is, upgrade to a different pledge level, or add on a standard game, with a few clicks.  

25% Discount Code for Cytosis backers extended!

The discount code for Cytosis backers (that I sent in the previous update) did expire, but I just extended the expiration date, so it’s good to go again! This code is good for 25% off any $30+ website orders for any of our games or children's science books. 

Cytosis PnP  

Just a quick note – several of you requested that we add the ATP and the Transport Vesicles to the Cytosis PnP, so, we did! It’s all there in Dropbox. You can find the Cytosis Print and Play in Update #12. 

Conventions  

It has been a whirlwind of a past couple weeks – We were at the ACD Games Day Trade Show most of last week and at Geekway to the West the week before! It was terrific getting to see a bunch of you backers, meeting with our project manager from Panda Manufacturing, attending seminars and connecting with retailers from all over the country!  

We're heading off to Origins Game Fair June 14-18. If any of you will be at Origins, we'll be at Booth #429! Please feel free to come stop by and say hello. We'll be bringing whatever pre-production Cytosis pieces we have! I'd love to meet you!!!

Overflowing with appreciation,

John

Files are Complete and A Beautiful Box Back!
about 7 years ago – Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 10:51:44 AM

Hello Backers! Here's a quick update.

Files and Manufacturing Update

FILES - All files were uploaded to the manufacturer for final review yesterday! We should be hearing from them soon to know if we need to make any modifications or if they’re ready to move forward. Here's are the next few steps:

• 1. Panda sends us digital proofs - we approve those digital proofs. These will be the actual files that Panda uses to print Cytosis. 
• 2. Panda sends us a Pre-Production Copy (PPC) - we approve the PPC. The PPC is essentially a sample prototype that is almost identical to the final copy of the game, so we can check it for dimensions, and components, etc. 
• 3. Panda starts "mass production" of the game, and then sends us a Mass Production Copy (MPC) as soon as all the final material are printed - we approve the MPC. 
• 4. Panda assembles all the components into our final games, puts the games into cartons and then puts the cartons onto pallets and the pallets onto boats, and those boats take our games to all of our fulfillment centers through out the world! 
• 5. We receive the games and ship them to you! Hopefully by the end of August! 

WOODEN PIECES - We should be receiving a sample set of the wooden pieces with the final shapes and screen printing this coming week. I actually increased the size of those pieces just slightly by about 5% to 10% just because I like them slightly chunkier, and we could afford to make bigger pieces. So why not :-) I will send everyone pictures as soon as they arrive! 

DICE - The dice samples are about 10 days behind the wooden samples. 

Cytosis Print & Play

Sarah is making the PnP right now and that should hopefully be done in a few days. 

A BEAUTIFUL BOX DESIGN

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We redesigned the back of the box, and... I am in LOVE all over again. 

Overflowing With Appreciation, 

John

A Surprise Transport Vesicle Disk Upgrade!
about 7 years ago – Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 02:43:35 PM

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I am going to spend the next few days with Sarah and Tomasz getting all the files finalized and uploaded to the manufacturer.  

I’ll update everyone with a detailed outline of the production schedule moving forward so that all of you can see what millstones we need to hit moving forward!

Surprise Transport Vesicle Disk Upgrade

In the meantime, I have one more upgrade that Tomasz and I have been working on for the last couple of days. It's not huge, but I think it helps tie the game together very nicely! 

Instead of just flat colored Transport Vesicles, we've created Transport Vesicle Disks matching the image of the transport vesicle illustrations but in the specific color of each player. These will make the movement of macromolecules through the endomembrane system feel just a bit more thematically accurate!   

We already added these to the files prior to the campaign ending which is why I didn’t want to add them as a stretch goal. I thought it would be fun to wait and just let everyone once the campaign ended :-) 

I’ll be back soon with more update once we have the new additions to the files ready and uploaded to the manufacture!  

Overflowing With Appreciation!  

John